Benitez ushers in rare period of stability for Newcastle

These are strange times for Newcastle United. Where once there was friction under owner Mike Ashley, an almost perpetual sense of foreboding and a constant source of drama, there is now calm.

Whisper it quietly, but Newcastle are cruising towards Premier League survival, the club united by manager Rafa Benitez, as a welldrilled team earn the acclaim of supporters who are not used to things running so smoothly.

It has rarely been like this during the Ashley years. These feelings seem unusual because this is not normal. Newcastle supporters have been conditioned to expect disappointment, not be impressed by revivals.

There are speed bumps in the road ahead, not least the prospect of further takeover confusion as the club remain up for sale. There are also questions that need to be answered regarding Benitez’s future. But for now, this is a team to be enjoyed, a campaign, if not to savour, then to at least appreciate.

Benitez tried to tell us it would be like this, that the second half of the season would be better than the first, but even though we wanted to believe him, we could not because the memories of so many dispiriting campaigns lingered.

Having slumped alarmingly before Christmas, Newcastle have been quietly impressive ever since. Their only defeats have come against Manchester City and Liverpool in the league and this win over Huddersfield means they are now close enough to safety to imagine the sense of relief it will bring.

Given current form – this victory was their third successive home

The decider: Ayoze Perez (left) celebrates after scoring the winner for Newcastle win – Newcastle could even finish in the top half of the table after Ayoze Perez scored the only goal of the game late in the second half.

“This game was crucial for us,” said Perez, just one of the players who has benefited from working with Benitez on the training ground. “It was one of the most important of the season and we got the victory.

“We’re seven points clear of the bottom three, which is a great distance, but there are still games to play and we have to keep going.”

The defeat means Huddersfield remain in peril, but David Wagner, the manager, was quick to point out that to even be in a position to fight for survival, so late in the season, represents success for a club few expected to do anything but go straight back down.

“There are no signs our spirit has been broken,” said Wagner. “From day one, when we met in pre-season, we have known if it is a good season after 32 games, we are in a position to fight to have another season in the Premier League.

“This is exactly where we are, we just have to take the opportunities we have left.” Jermain Defoe has admitted his frustration at being on the bench for Bournemouth, believing it is damaging his England prospects.

The striker, 35, still talks like a schoolboy about how he believes he can win the World Cup for England, yet he has not started a league game since Dec 17.

An ankle injury, three days after that, led to a two-month absence and, since then, he has only made cameo appearances as a substitute.

Defoe, who has 57 international caps, scored a late equaliser here